19 Then the king said to (A)Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go (B)I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show[a] steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, (C)“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, (D)wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 22 And David said to Ittai, “Go then, pass on.” So Ittai the Gittite passed on with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 23 And all the land wept aloud as all the people passed by, and the king crossed (E)the brook (F)Kidron, and all the people passed on toward (G)the wilderness.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks may the Lord show

19 The king said to Ittai(A) the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner,(B) an exile from your homeland. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander(C) about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”[a](D)

21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”(E)

22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

23 The whole countryside wept aloud(F) as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley,(G) and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 15:20 Septuagint; Hebrew May kindness and faithfulness be with you